Input Devices Guide

First Looks: PowerLogic Alien G9 Gaming Mouse

To 6000 dpi & Beyond

In the gaming mice arms race, manufacturers try to one-up each other by releasing mice with higher dpi counts. The current market leader is Logitech's G9x laser mouse, which tracks at an impressive 5700 dpi. If you think that's insane, check out the latest gaming mice from PowerLogic, the Alien G9, which is capable of tracking up to an incredible 6000 dpi.

Gamers familiar with the Razer Copperhead will instantly find themselves at home with the Alien G9. The shape is similar, except that the Alien G9 has additional thumb and pinkie grips at the sides. That aside, we were slightly surprised at the number of different materials that were used for the mouse. The buttons are made of this smooth, matte black material, the sides have a rough and highly texturized grip, the scroll wheel is chrome, and the trim is a black and glossy plastic. It's not a bad design, but this weird amalgam of materials do clash somewhat.

On top of that, the Alien G9 also features customizable LED lights. PowerLogic claims it'll display millions of colors, but we are not too sure about that. While you can pick the colors on a typical color field, we thought that it wasn't good at displaying anything other than blues and reds.

Sensitivity Overload

The Alien G9 was designed for right-handers and specifically palm grippers, as the shape and the pinkie grip makes claw gripping difficult. The protruding pinkie grip also made it difficult for us to find a suitable resting position for our ring finger. Nevertheless, you'll get used to this once you've spent enough time with the mouse.

Similar to the Logitech G9x laser mouse and Microsoft SideWinder X8, the Alien G9 also sports a customizable weight system. Opening up the base reveals a small compartment where you can add magnetic weights. This is a nice touch, but the weights are identical, so it's a tad hard to fine tune. We also found the Alien G9 far too light without any weights.

But the highlight of the Alien G9 has to be its 6000 dpi laser tracking system, which is the most sensitive on the market today. However, 6000 dpi seems a bit too excessive, as it is far too sensitive and hence unusable. At 2000 dpi, however, the Alien G9 tracked well, comparable to the competition from Razer or Logitech.

Final Thoughts

All in all, the PowerLogic Alien G9 is a decent gaming mouse. All of its basic and advertised features work, but we can't help but feel that PowerLogic was being slightly too ambitious with it. It might have loads of features, but the end product doesn't feel as polished as you'd get with something from Razer or Logitech. On the upside, the Alien G9 can be had for a smidge under S$100, and for a high-end gaming mouse, that's an absolute steal.